Power- The theme of power is a major theme in Lord of the Flies. From the beginning of the novel, when Ralph was appointed leader, there has always been different feelings on who should be the chief on the island. Jack, who started off as the leader of the choir boys, always had a thirst for power. Ralph, who was the more noble and mature of the two, tried to keep his power through the conch. But Jack on the other hand, the more violent and controlling one, stole Ralph's power through meat and blood, and abuses his power to hunt and kill. The dilemma of control and power causes tension and problems in the group. Without one person in complete power, and the fights over control, causes strife and competition, and also causes all sense of government to fall.
Survival- From the day of the plane crash, survival has been a major theme. Not only is it hard to survive on a stranded island, but it is even more of a challenge for the boys because they are still young and naive. In the beginning of the novel all the boys, including Ralph, thought that being on the island without adults would be "fun." And for a while, the boys did have fun, until bad things started occurring, such as the disappearance of the mulberry marked boy, the fire going out, and the lack of food. By the end of the novel, after the two groups separate, the boys realize how important survival really is. Without the fire and without trying to survive, lead to several events such as killing the pigs and the death of Piggy and Simon.
Loss of Civilization- In all stories about the characters getting stranded on islands, most of the characters lose their sense of sanity. In Lord of the Flies, the young boys lose all sense of sanity as well as losing all sense of civilization. From staying on the island too long without any supervision or adults, the boys forget how to behave and act civilized. This loss is first shown when Jack violently hunts then kills the pig. Also, when Percival tries to recite his name and address but forgets how to, this shows how the boys are forgetting about the civilization and society they had once known. Without government, adult supervision and guidance for the boys, they forget how to live properly, which leads to them becoming savages.
Importance of Organization/ Working Together- On the island, the littluns are too young to help, and their attention span does not last long enough to even help and complete the chores. This leaves all the work to the biguns, but even they do not want to complete all the work. With the lack of organization and working together, the boys never were able to get anything done. If all of the boys set their priorities straight and knew the work that had to be done, they would have lived a better life and possibly more civilly within their time on the island. One example of not working together and in an organized fashion was the signal fire, and how the hunters let it burn out. The most important thing was the signal fire on the island, and by not working together and keeping things organized, they had a hard time on the island. Organization and working together are great life skills, and one can learn a valuable lesson from this theme, which is the value and importance of being organized and being able to work with others.
Standing up for Yourself- Standing up for yourself was one of the minor themes in Lord of the Flies, but this theme teaches one great life lessons. In this novel, Jack being the antagonist, was mean and even cruel at points to several of the boys, one of them being Piggy. Jack had a personal goal to completely bring down Piggy, and after Jack pushed one too many of Piggy's buttons, he finally stood up for himself. Also, Jack had been very mean to Ralph because he had wanted the position of leadership. Ralph got so annoyed at points that he would explode in Jacks face, reassuring his post as chief. If you never stand up for yourself or have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, people will happily walk all over you. If you stand up for yourself, such as Ralph and Piggy, you will have more self confidence in yourself and a stronger person.
Respect
Fear of the Unknown
Responsibility
Loss of Sanity- Soon after the boys have landed on the island things start to go downhill and the boys start to loose their sanity.
Innocence- One of the major themes in Lord of the Flies is loss of innocence. The boys range from ages 6 to 12 and at that age, they are seen as innocent, but by the end of the novel the boys have become savages and completely lost their innocence. When the boys first crashed on the island they try to keep things organized and attempt to create a society. Over time though. the boys commit acts of violence that strip them of their innocence. First, they begin to kill pigs mostly for fun. At one point they kill a mother sow which shows how violent and uncaring they have become. Being innocent means you are free of moral wrong and killing a mother sow proves how the boys have become savage. In addition, Jack's groups of hunters along with some of the other boys killed Piggy and Simon. Many of them refused to acknowledge the deaths and others deny that anything happened. Finally, at the end of the novel, all of the boys go on a "hunt" for Ralph, looking to kill him. By the time they boys are rescued, they have lost their innocence by the unmoral acts they have commited
Survival- From the day of the plane crash, survival has been a major theme. Not only is it hard to survive on a stranded island, but it is even more of a challenge for the boys because they are still young and naive. In the beginning of the novel all the boys, including Ralph, thought that being on the island without adults would be "fun." And for a while, the boys did have fun, until bad things started occurring, such as the disappearance of the mulberry marked boy, the fire going out, and the lack of food. By the end of the novel, after the two groups separate, the boys realize how important survival really is. Without the fire and without trying to survive, lead to several events such as killing the pigs and the death of Piggy and Simon.
Loss of Civilization- In all stories about the characters getting stranded on islands, most of the characters lose their sense of sanity. In Lord of the Flies, the young boys lose all sense of sanity as well as losing all sense of civilization. From staying on the island too long without any supervision or adults, the boys forget how to behave and act civilized. This loss is first shown when Jack violently hunts then kills the pig. Also, when Percival tries to recite his name and address but forgets how to, this shows how the boys are forgetting about the civilization and society they had once known. Without government, adult supervision and guidance for the boys, they forget how to live properly, which leads to them becoming savages.
Importance of Organization/ Working Together- On the island, the littluns are too young to help, and their attention span does not last long enough to even help and complete the chores. This leaves all the work to the biguns, but even they do not want to complete all the work. With the lack of organization and working together, the boys never were able to get anything done. If all of the boys set their priorities straight and knew the work that had to be done, they would have lived a better life and possibly more civilly within their time on the island. One example of not working together and in an organized fashion was the signal fire, and how the hunters let it burn out. The most important thing was the signal fire on the island, and by not working together and keeping things organized, they had a hard time on the island. Organization and working together are great life skills, and one can learn a valuable lesson from this theme, which is the value and importance of being organized and being able to work with others.
Standing up for Yourself- Standing up for yourself was one of the minor themes in Lord of the Flies, but this theme teaches one great life lessons. In this novel, Jack being the antagonist, was mean and even cruel at points to several of the boys, one of them being Piggy. Jack had a personal goal to completely bring down Piggy, and after Jack pushed one too many of Piggy's buttons, he finally stood up for himself. Also, Jack had been very mean to Ralph because he had wanted the position of leadership. Ralph got so annoyed at points that he would explode in Jacks face, reassuring his post as chief. If you never stand up for yourself or have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, people will happily walk all over you. If you stand up for yourself, such as Ralph and Piggy, you will have more self confidence in yourself and a stronger person.
Respect
Fear of the Unknown
Responsibility
Loss of Sanity- Soon after the boys have landed on the island things start to go downhill and the boys start to loose their sanity.
Innocence- One of the major themes in Lord of the Flies is loss of innocence. The boys range from ages 6 to 12 and at that age, they are seen as innocent, but by the end of the novel the boys have become savages and completely lost their innocence. When the boys first crashed on the island they try to keep things organized and attempt to create a society. Over time though. the boys commit acts of violence that strip them of their innocence. First, they begin to kill pigs mostly for fun. At one point they kill a mother sow which shows how violent and uncaring they have become. Being innocent means you are free of moral wrong and killing a mother sow proves how the boys have become savage. In addition, Jack's groups of hunters along with some of the other boys killed Piggy and Simon. Many of them refused to acknowledge the deaths and others deny that anything happened. Finally, at the end of the novel, all of the boys go on a "hunt" for Ralph, looking to kill him. By the time they boys are rescued, they have lost their innocence by the unmoral acts they have commited
Image sources:
http://www.missingmiami.com/2011/02/the-conch-shell/
http://en2kn.wordpress.com/2009/12/28/lord-of-the-flies-the-plot-iii/
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.glogster.com/media/1/2/96/25/2962568.jpg&imgrefurl=http://emiliabacon.glogster.com/LOTF/&usg=__L1Finq4JMPzRYV3PGybhJxA9Ifk=&h=240&w=428&sz=32&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=2PtjRmgHBcHXeM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=183&ei=Y8bsTdm4OaLf0QG2ro2FAQ&
http://www.amusestory.com/business-events/
http://bibliojunkie.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/lord-of-the-flies-by-william-golding/